Bowen / Burdekin Local Marine Advisory Committee

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A local voice on Marine Park issues

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) is advised on management issues about the Marine Park at a local level by voluntary community-based committees called Local Marine Advisory Committees (LMACs).

LMACs enable local communities to have effective input into managing the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and provide a community forum for interest groups, government and the community to discuss issues around marine resources.

The purpose of an LMAC is to:

Improve the involvement and support of local communities in the management, the ecologically, socially and economically sustainable use, and the conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (World Heritage Area).

Advise GBRMPA and other World Heritage Area Agencies on issues and policies relating to specific activities, conservation, environment, public information and public education concerning their local catchment, marine and coastal region.

Facilitate communication between user groups in the local community.

Promote the exchange of information about, and raise awareness of, issues impacting on the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem between communities, the GBRMPA and other Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area agencies.

Bowen / Burdekin Local Marine Advisory Committee

The Bowen / Burdekin LMAC covers the coastal and inland area extending from Haughton River in the north to Yeates Creek in the south and includes Giru, Ayr and Bowen communities. The current term for the Bowen/Burdekin LMAC is 2015-2018.

The LMAC helps the GBRMPA and other management agencies to keep in touch with marine and coastal issues in the Bowen / Burdekin region and understand how the local community and businesses use of the Marine Park. LMACs provide both an advisory and a communication role between the community and the GBRMPA.

Regional focus

The Bowen / Burdekin region is diverse and its prosperous economy is based on agriculture, fishing, tourism, and mining.

The Burdekin region is labelled the sugar capital of Australia. Local farms are drought-proof because of the Burdekin River, the reserves of the Burdekin Falls Dam and an underground aquifer which lies just 10 metres below the surface.

Just north of Bowen is the Abbot Point coal loading port. Coal is mined inland of Bowen in the Bowen Basin and is brought by rail to a deepwater pier to be loaded on bulk carriers.

The Bowen / Burdekin region is a mecca for fishing and is well-known for its barramundi, mudcrabs, other estuary species and off-coast reef fishing. The region has one of the highest rates of boat ownership per head of population.

Meetings and activities

The LMAC meetings are held on the first Wednesday of every second month, with the first meeting being held in March (there is no meeting in January). Meetings are held alternatively in Bowen and Ayr to capture the information from both regions. The next activity which LMAC are involved with is the Low Tide Walk to the lighthouse in Bowen in mid 2017.